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Saturday, March 18, 2006

Here's a great book. It's called Facts Can't Speak for Themselves, and it's written by Eric Oliver. It's available from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy ("NITA") at a cost of $65. If you have a trial practice, you've got to get -- and read -- this book!

Monday, March 13, 2006

If you practice in federal court much you don't need this book. However, if you are a little rusty on certain points of federal practice, this is a great book to have on your shelf. It is the Federal Civil Rules Handbook (2006 ed). It's available from Thompson-West. It is easy to use and has a lot of information in one place.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Do you have an orthopaedic subject that you need to research? If so, here's a great place to start: http://www.wheelessonline.com/. This is Duke Orthopaedics online version of Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics.

This site is handy if you're reviewing medical charts at you desk and need to find an answer right then and there.

Friday, March 10, 2006

I'm writing an article about discovery abuse and ran across my friend's post on his blog today about the same subject (see www.dayontorts.com). I thought this would be worth sharing.

For those of you in Tennessee, take a look at the comments to Rule 30 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. Most of us have experienced some form of discovery abuse in depositions, the comments let you know what you can do about them (e.g., seek sanctions).

Monday, March 06, 2006

Here's a good practice pointer for drafting complaints. When drafting your complaint, take a look at the applicable pattern jury instructions to establish your prima facie case (assuming the facts will support your allegations). It's reverse engineering to ensure that you have pled the essential elements of your causes of action. It also helps in your research too.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

In Tennessee, there is a deviation from section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts (1965). Section 402A requires that a product be both defective and unreasonably dangerous. Tennessee, however, uses the disjunctive and does not require both. Instead, liability is imposed if a product that causes injury was in a defective condition or was unreasonably dangerous. See Cruze v. Ford Motor Co., 1999 WL 1206798, at *10 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999).